Do You Remember the Time
by Simply Hopeless
Summary: Goodbye crummy husband, goodbye deadbeat dad and hello new life because it's time for a change! Kagome Higurashi was no longer married to her husband Inuyasha Sugisaki. But the problem is he doesn't remember the divorce or that he's dating someone else.
1. Prologue

Hello Simply Hopeless here with a new story for you. I do not own Inuyasha, never have, and never will. Do you know what today is? It's my birthday today, no lies. I wanted to put up a story on my birthday to mark this special day for me and you can make it perfect by sending me reviews saying what you think of this new story so far. Think of it as a birthday present to me. Lol.

Do You Remember the Time

Prologue

'_Dear Diary:_

_It's final… Inuyasha and I are no more. I've already received the papers certifying the fact and I couldn't be anymore happier. Sango was right… I didn't deserve that jerk. And I'm just happy… so happy that I could c—'_

A long ago tear had dropped down onto the diary marring the 'r' and 'y' that should have been placed next to the 'c.' Dark blotches had also splattered across other pages of the diary that had been left carelessly open on the bed.

It seemed that the book was left there in the occupant's rush to leave the otherwise tidy room. The bed the book was nestled on was neatly made with only a slight indent from where someone had sat previously. The spot still held a bit of warmth to it on its pale coral pink sheets.

A glance around the room showed it to be that of someone who was just on the cusps of leaving behind adolescence to embrace adulthood. The struggle between the changes obvious in the items set neatly in the room such as the posters of Jpop bands and singers littering across the 'Hello Kitty' wallpaper as if trying to hide its existence.

Stuffed animals in all, shapes and sizes lined a shelf between her dresser and her window while a few held parleys among the pillows of her bed. Lifeless eyes stared longingly for the occupant who hadn't graced them with her presence until just recently. But it had been so long that they were unprepared and incapable to greet before it seemed she left just as quickly.

It seemed that only the occupant's mother or the housecat, Buyo, frequented the room in the some odd years that the original occupant had left for new dwellings. And even then the others came only to dust away the dust bunnies, air out the room or even to sunbathe across the crisps sheets of the bed. But even if that was so that still would not explain the reason why someone would have pulled out the diary and then after riffling through it, leave it so carelessly open.

Not when someone had taken painful care to alphabetically arrange the old magazines of teen magazines, along with the year and month said magazine was issued among her children books. No nor did it explain why the door was left slightly ajar, showing a faded sign on the door saying, 'Kagome's Room,' in big red letters with slightly smaller letters underneath saying, 'No Annoying Brothers Beyond This Point.' Each letter capitalized as if that would get the point across that only impending doom would face the so-called intruder.

But even as someone would just poke his or her head inside the room and give it a brief glance before leaving there was still the diary lying on the bed. Curiosity would be peaked to know why and when this diary was pulled out. Whose diary being obvious to some extent but what was inside was still a desire that could not be quenched without exploring.

Once again someone would venture to sit down on the bed in almost the exact spot as the previous person. Fingers would reach out hesitantly, pause, and then touch the page to make sure it was real before flipping the dairy to its front page to see 'Owned by Kagome Higurashi.'

Then as soon as they confirmed that this indeed was the book they had figured it would be they would riffle through the pages, caressing each leaflet in wonder. As if the fingers had only previously dreamed about doing this only to find that it was indeed reality. They would then start then stop its feverish turning of the pages to settle on an earlier entry then the one written just moments before.

'_Dear Diary:_

_Can you believe it? Inuyasha had proposed to me an hour ago. It's just so… so **wow**. I mean who would have thought that he would propose to me? I mean don't get me wrong diary I know he loves me but I had thought… you know Kikyou and… but **no** I'm not going to let that woman ruin my happiness._

_He chose me. Me, me, me, me, me, ME!_

_Kikyo had her chance and blew it. And I thank Kami she did because I l—'_

Suddenly a gust of wind, from the window allowing fresh air to come in, stole the preferred page from the occupant's hand and began to blow the pages viciously forwards again to another section as if invisible fingers were looking for a different passage.

Feverish eyes other then the occupant's flickered across passages of love and frustrations, sadness and joy to finally settle on a page that had sated its hungry appetite for the moment. Or more precisely that the occupant had decided on as a hand slapped the pages flat again. Then seeing as the wind had given up on the diary as it found another interest the occupant moved their fingers to read the new entry, eyes widening at the first sentence.

'_Dear Diary:_

_I think he's cheating one me. Don't ask me why but I really believe that… it's not normal diary. He says he's busy at work and I know work is trying because I go to work too but… he always made time for me before._

_No it's… something's not right and I swear tonight I'll f—'_

"Souta have you gathered all your stuff yet? Remember take only what you need for college!" shouted the care keeper of not just Kagome's room but all the rooms in the Higurashi household.

"I… Coming Mom!" bellowed the tenor voice of the person holding the diary.

Souta sighed and sat the book down. The eighteen year old male stood up and to stroke the pages longingly. Disappointment obvious in his dark brown eyes before he carelessly tied his black hair from his face that looked strongly like the father he had never gotten to know.

His thoughts were still on the diary on the bed even as his hands fell from his tied back hair. The only given reason to let it grow out from it's neat little haircut of boyhood being only to irritate his Grandpa but only he really knew that. No that knowledge wasn't the thing that he was interested in because he had been searching forever for his older sister's diary and to just find it… **like this** and be unable to look at all the pages was more then a little frustrating.

But even as fingers were ready to pluck the book from the bed, they paused and gently closed the diary. "I'll read it when it has more to it," he said thoughtfully to no one as if reassuring himself. Then shouldering his pack he walked out the door and closed it to see what else to bring to his mother.

The holy grail of the diary left behind as he wondered when his sister, Kagome, would come to retrieve it again.

A/N: There! This is definitely something more then just a little paragraph written as an afterthought and an author note. Well hope you like, review, and continue to read on.


	2. Chapter One

Hello Simply Hopeless here and I want to say quickly to all that have read this story when it first came out that I'm sorry. I had suffered through major writer's block and pulled up a blank just after I put up my excuse of going to celebrate my party. I… a lot had happened and I'm happy for those who understand and am sorry for those who don't.

Anyway to make it up I had not only put up the prologue but this chapter on the same day. Call it an appeasement present and hopefully I will be able to churn out new chapters for my others stories after fighting the evils called writers block.

Well you know already that I do not own Inuyasha, that this story is mine and I would more then love it if you reviewed. This story is AU 'alternate universe' and is set ten years after the anime so all characters of course are ten years older hence Souta being eighteen instead of eight. Well without further adieu… enjoy.

Do You Remember the Time

Chapter One

It felt cold… She was cold. The cheek that she allowed to be pressed lightly against the chains of the swing was slowly having its warmth leeched away. And to be honest the female didn't really care.

'It can only help in the distraction,' she thought vaguely before she kicked her feet against the ground. Slowly the swing creaked into life making the chains rustle gently as she grasped them harder. Each digit curled around the links that made up the chain of her swing while wisps of black hair fell out of the messy ponytail that she had placed it in.

'In and out.'

'In and out.'

Pumping her legs so that they fit the simple mantra that she had learned since she was little. Just closing her eyes she could remember her undiluted joy at the fact that she could perform such a task. It seemed so simple now to just kick out her legs before tucking them under her again. Her body found simple pleasure in being allowed to let it be lulled by the steady rocking of the swing's motion.

Doe brown eyes, that were filled with so much pain and lost, were allowed to close as she swallowed hard and just breathed. She just wanted to allow the cold air to fill her lungs before releasing it in a puff of smoke that snaked past slightly chapped lips.

The tip of her pink tongue decided to prod along the soft flesh of her bottom lip hoping to do for it what Chap Stick should have. But it didn't really matter if her lips cracked and bled or if she swung so hard that she'd fly up into the sky and never return.

It almost felt as if something had hooked her by her belly button and tried to lift her gently up into the empty vacuum of the ink black sky with its crushed up stars. But just as she began to untangle her fingers from the chain, so that she may embrace the sky and let it surround her in its comforting embrace, his face appeared before her eyes.

Golden eyes filled with so much fiery passion before evolving into an almost blank look of confusion as a remark went over his head. Lips that seemed to twitch naturally into a sneer before falling into a downright grin that was bordering on devilish were clearly revered. As well as a mane of silver hair that begged to have fingers run through it and cute doggy ears that twitched if you even thought about touching them.

'There was so much more that I could wax on about him,' she thought vaguely. Her now unfocused eyes slid close. The way he would wrap his arms comfortably around her from behind to offer her solace. Or how he would throw her over his shoulder when she refused to go anywhere with him. It seemed that she could never display just one emotion around him. No it had to be mixed with love and confusion, anger and joy that fitted comfortably around them in their married years.

But just as a whimsical smile had threaten to creep up on the female's lips it was quickly dashed away. Tears seemed to want to leak out of her eyes at the thought that had brought her to the swing set in her backyard. The same swing set that had been erected when her godson decided to live with her after the unfortunate loss of his parents. That had been built by a reluctant hanyou with much coaxing and lecturing.

She quickly shook her head because no matter how much she tried to forget him or it, it seemed to always come back to her. First the swelling up of her heart at the thought of him before it burst like an unsightly boil, oozing despair and frustration in a thick pussy mess.

Her teeth sank down so hard into her bottom lip as she thought of the paper that she had held in her hands an hour or two ago. The paper that had been folded and smoothed out so many times that it already made it look older then it actually was. All of this coupled with the bittersweet taste of her own blood as she reluctantly parted her teeth from her abused flesh.

'Nothing much matters now that I—' she thought chokingly. A stubborn tear already started to roll down her cheek. Her thoughts and her hand froze just as she was about to brush away the tear one-handedly as she continued to swing unconsciously.

"So there you are Kagome," sighed a slightly mature, female voice. Her footsteps were clearly heard coming closer to the hunched over form that still insisted upon swinging on her swing.

She didn't even bother to turn her head to look back at the friend who called her. She knew that her friend would come to her as she reluctantly slowed down. Her feet touching the ground each time it passed the surface so that her momentum rapidly decreased. Then as she came to a screeching halt she looked up to see kind brown eyes looking sympathetically up at her.

"You're going to catch a cold and you have been… Mmm." She quickly ripped and roughly replaced her words with a murmur of understanding. A thumb had already reached out to rub the smudge that her friend Kagome had forgotten to wipe away. Then as if the chilled face she touched burned her own flesh, she dropped her hand away.

"Oh… was I Sango?" Kagome barely mumbled out. A frown slightly marred her features at the motherly attention that Sango had lavished on her before she turned lifeless eyes up to her friend. "I didn't… didn't know," she breathed out giving a halfhearted smile. It quickly melted away as her head fell back down as if it was to heavy to be supported by her neck.

"Damn it Kagome I know it's hard but it's already been a month. Get the fuck over it," hissed Sango low as she gripped her friend's chin. The balls of her fingers digging into her companion's chin if only to elicit a response other then the blank stares and half empty answers.

A flash of anger and pain flashed through Kagome's eyes as she was forced to look up before she stubbornly squeezed them close. Her head quickly wrenched away from Sango's fingers before she forced her eyes to look at the chain s of the swing.

"That's not like you Sango," she said as an afterthought. "Yelling I mean or swearing… unless it concerned Miroku that is," she reflected. The corner of her lips twitched slightly before they fell down into a frown. Her fingers had started to trace up the links before her hand was ripped away.

Startled brown eyes looked up into serious brown ones before she felt herself yanked physically up from her swing. The seat that was now unoccupied swung erratically before it stilled as Kagome tried to pull free. "Stop it Sango. I want to swing," she protested before shaking her head vehemently.

"Your twenty-five Kagome. Please act like it for once and just… **grow up**," she ground out. She then threw down Kagome's hand in a bit of disgust before she glared at the reproachful look of her friend. "Like I said before it's been a month and you know you had wanted this. I mean Kami Kagome! Inuyasha is nothing but a j—" ranted Sango out before she was cut off by one vicious look and a word.

"STOP!" cried out Kagome.

Sango's mouth open, closed, then opened again as if she was a fish caught without water. Then seeing as no sound would come out she firmly closed her mouth with a slight click of her teeth before she looked on at her friend astounded. Worried brown eyes watching every detail from the now trembling frame, the balled little fists, the tear filled eyes and the unbelievable pain that burned in chocolate depths.

"You never experienced the pain of it so… so don't say anything," she let out shakily. She wasn't quite that unhinged to say anything more vicious but Sango knew that once Kagome released this feeling that wanted to capture her up in then she would be one step closer to recovery.

"You're so pathetic right now Kagome. Mewing like a helpless kitten at already spilled milk," the older woman sneered. Her eyes narrowed in distaste as a slow smirked dragged towards her lip even as she felt her insides go cold. 'Sorry Kagome… this needs to be…' she thought before her thoughts were cut off.

"Stop it damn it!" Kagome nearly screamed. She took a step forcefully towards Sango before she gritted her teeth. An angry tear fell down her cheek before she brushed it viciously away as if it truly didn't deserve to exist. "I am not weak, I am not pathetic and who the hell do you think you are telling me otherwise? You have no fucking idea how it feels to be ripped away from someone **you thought** was your soul mate," she hissed so low that the words nearly blended into each other.

"Kagome I was only trying to he—" Sango began to apologize quickly. She felt uncomfortable all of a sudden as she realized that the person that she accused as a kitten indeed had fangs and teeth and knew how to use both. She took an involuntary step, her hands out as if to hold the girl at arms length even if she didn't dare touch her.

"Only trying to help?" chirped out Kagome bitterly. She bit her bottom lip to hold back the soft chuckle that push insistently at her teeth. An almost wild look gleamed those brown eyes that had previously been filled with such sadness. "Oh yes I must be out of it. I never really thought that you lashing at me was your way of helping. Please. I want to apologize," she bowed mockingly.

By this point more tears had pushed effortlessly pass the barrier of lashes and eyelids to slowly ease its way down her cheeks. "I want to apologize for actually believing that marital vows meant something to him. I want to apologize for being idiot enough to give my heart to him when I should have known he'd fucking toss it in the compose heap. **I want to fucking apologize for think that true love existed and that this damn pain right here in my chest will ever go away**," she nearly sobbed out.

She felt her legs trembling unsteadily under her and before she could fully collapse to her knees Sango had caught her. Lips quickly kissed a wet cheek before reassuringly arms adjusted around her. "Shhh Kagome. You don't have to say anymore. Just… just rest right now," Sango soothed before gently rocking the smaller woman in her arms.

"But it hurts. Kami it hurts so bad Sango," she stumbled out deliriously as if not fully registering Sango's words. "I… I feel so empty inside that I don't… I don't know if I'll ever be quite right again. It's like… It's like he literally ripped out my heart but I'm still alive. It's just… just so hard to explain how…. How empty I feel," she hiccupped before burying her tearstained face against Sango's neck.

Fingers rubbed slow circles along her back before Sango's warm body began to guide Kagome towards her home again. "Shippo's asleep and hopefully won't awaken until the morning. So what I suggest we do right now is sit down to a good cup of chai and you can tell me everything until you can't talk anymore," suggested Sango. She felt that one more outburst from her best friend would send her following down into the abyss of shared misery.

"Oh… okay," hiccupped Kagome. Her voice sounded so raw and brittle that a cup of chai would only help but improve the situation. Her body standing straighter at the prospect at the spicy liquid that would honorably warm her insides. And just as she reached the patio's door she was the one to ease it open before stepping inside.

Toeing off her shoes before she stepped onto the carpet of her home. She gravitated to the kitchen like a lost waif with her friend following behind in concern. Kagome wordlessly settled into a stool in front of the island in her kitchen before pointing out the ingredients needed to make the Indian drink.

Heavy lids closing against Sango bustling forward to prepare the spice milk tea. Occasionally she would inhale deeply to savor the smell of cinnamon, ginger, peppercorn and other spices wafting from the concoction. And just when her eyes fluttered open as fingers pressed a cup of chai into her hand she heard a ringing at the door.

"What are you doing here?" The muffled words were spat out with such venom that Kagome quickly stumbled to her feet with her chai still carelessly held in her hands.

She moved towards the front door and ventured to open her mouth to speak. "What's wrong Sango? Who is it?" Kagome asked anxiously, her eyes already darting around for a possible weapon if it happened to be an intruder.

But just as her eyes settled on the poker for the chimney the voice of the person on the other side of the door had drawn her attention. The door that had blocked her view from the person was thrown back carelessly by capable hands as a body pushed forcefully pass Sango.

"What the hell is wrong with you Sango? Can't I see my own wife?" growled out Inuyasha annoyed at the persistent friend. Then golden eyes darted towards Kagome in alarm as Kagome's cup of chai fell onto the ground.

The warm caramel liquid splattered against anything in its vicinity including Kagome's legs. But she did not have time to dwell on the shattered shards of the cup or the pain of hot liquid because Inuyasha quickly rushed to her side.

Arms that she had never thought she would feel again, wrapped around her trembling frame crushing her to his bigger one. "Are you alright Kagome?" asked Inuyasha urgently as he rested his chin on top of her head. He rocked her gently in his arms, ignoring Sango's protest only to receive two words from Kagome.

"Inuyasha… why?" gasped out the confused woman squeezing her eyes shut.

To be continued…


End file.
